My name is Brooke Pelletier and I’m in grade 11. I took this course because ​I’m interested in photography because I think it’s such a great form of art. ​Theres so many possibilities of what you can capture which gives you so ​much freedom. I want to go into the film industry, and I love movies and ​cinematography so I thought this course could teach me some things ​about that. For me I think photography is about taking photos of things ​that are important to you, and not what you “should” capture. It’s about ​stepping out of your comfort zone to create new things and enjoying the ​process. You can show so many emotions and stories through a photo and ​you can really tell if the photographer is passionate about it in my ​opinion. Whenever I go online for inspiration photos, I always see ​beautiful photos and I always hope that one day I can make something ​that amazing myself. I learned a lot about photography in this course, but ​the thing that has helped me the most is patience. Patience is so so ​important for photography, and it can really make a difference in your ​photos. I learned how to use a digital camera and how it works and how to ​use aperture, shutter speed and ISO to get my desired photo. I really love ​photography and I’m very proud of some of the photos I’ve taken this ​semester. I got to explore my creativity and ideas. Sometimes I ran out of ​ideas, and I had difficulty with getting either the focus, the aperture, or the ​overall composition just right, but I kept at it and each time I eventually ​succeeded. Photography isn’t always going to be perfect, and I’ve learned ​to let go and I find that it makes my photos better if I’m more flexible. I ​know I will use photography lots in the future, whether it’s for things I find ​beautiful, memories, or the people I love. I think it can also be very useful ​in the film industry to show how I want a scene to look since photos can ​show so much emotion.

This photo is of a leaf with a large aperture. I think there’s good ​focus, but I think the background could be a little distracting. ​Although, I do think the tree behind the leaf looks good because ​they both are slanted to the left which connects the background to ​the focal point of the photo. I learned about how aperture works ​and how I can use it to get to my specific end goal. This project and ​specifically this photo helped me to remember how to use aperture ​and how it works.

This is a portrait of my coach. She’s fully facing the camera and ​evenly lit. I’m proud of the lighting and exposure in this photo ​because I think I got it just right. It’s also in focus, although I think ​I should’ve used a larger aperture to make the background a little ​blurry because I want the focal point to be my subject. I also think I ​could’ve worked on the composition by using a different ​background that is less distracting. That being said I still think it’s ​a good photo.

This is one of my favorite photos I’ve taken. I really love the look of ​black and white photos and portraits, but I also think color can ​add a lot to a photo so I’m happy I chose to use both. I’m very ​happy with the result because I love the lighting and focus of the ​portrait. I think I could’ve made the blend from photo to photo a ​little smoother. The most challenging part of this was taking a ​portrait that I knew would look good with another photo. I’m ​proud of the ones that I took and chose because I think they go ​together very well. I also like how the TIME logo turned out.

For this macro photo I had lots of challenges with focus because ​the part I wanted in focus was small and I wasn’t using the macro ​lens. I eventually got it clear by standing as still as I possibly could ​and finding the perfect distance from the subject. I think I could’ve ​angled my camera up so that the focal point is more in the center, ​but other than that I really like the composition of this

This photo is my number one favorite photo I’ve taken. I’m super ​proud of the composition, colors, angle, and focus. It is exactly ​what I imagined that I wanted to capture. I love how soft and calm ​the sky looks and I’m very happy I added the trees into frame ​because I want going to at first, but I think they add a lot to the ​photo and make it way more interesting. I wasn’t planning on ​having the camera facing up but obviously I couldn’t get as high ​up as the top of the trees, so I stood on my balcony and took it from ​there which I think was the perfect angle.

This photo is of the inside of our school with a cool effect to ​enhance the quiet halls. I used a slow shutter speed and zoomed ​in while I took the photo. The project was to get more familiar ​with shutter speed and aperture and this was my choice photo, so ​I chose to try a new technique. This photo taught me how shutter ​speed works and how it can be used which I didn’t really ​understand fully from the explanation.

This project was typography, I decided to take different photos of ​letters I could find in different fonts, colors, and sizes around the ​school to spell out Riverside. It was hard for me to get some of the ​letters in focus because I had no experience with close-up photos, ​but I figured it out over time and cropped some of the photos to ​make the letter larger. I think I could’ve improved it by taking ​photos of letters with more color variety to further represent how ​different things can work together well. I really like the result ​though because I think it’s creative and engaging.

This is a couple’s portrait of my coach and my teammate. I like that ​the clouds in the background are in focus but other than that the ​background should be a little plainer to put the emphasis on the ​subjects. I’m happy with how the exposure and focus turned out in ​this photo. I learned how to direct my subjects and help them find ​natural poses. I tried to take the pictures in a moment when they ​were smiling in the photo instead of for the photo. For me, that was ​the most challenging part, but I know my subjects very well so that ​helped it to be more natural.

I really love the composition of this photo. This was my first-time ​trying macro photography, and I learned about how different it is ​than taking regular photos. Theres a little more you must be aware ​of when taking macro shots like making sure it’s in clear focus and ​having a large aperture. I had challenges with focus at first, but I ​kept trying and eventually got a clear photo. In the end this was my ​favorite of all the macro shots I took and I’m very proud of it.

This photo was taken at a movie set that I got to visit. I really love ​this photo because I want to go into the movie industry and it’s ​special to me. I had lots of difficulty with the exposure because of ​all the lights and then there were parts that weren’t as light up but ​that I still wanted in the photo, so I had to get the exposure to be ​just in the middle. Also, this was taken at night which I don’t have ​much experience with so that added a bit more challenges, but I ​didn’t give up because I really wanted this photo, so I just adjusted ​the settings until I got my desired photo. I’m very happy with the ​result, I think it’s a beautiful and interesting photo.

I already take a lot of photos in my day-to-day life, so having the tools to make them as good as possible no matter what kind of ​device I’m using will be helpful. I love to take pictures of my friends and when I get inspired and have an idea for something I’d ​want to incorporate into a movie. I want to keep my photography skills and not forget them because I’d love to build on them and ​keep getting better. I will continue to go out of my comfort zone and push my creativity, and I know that sometimes it won’t work ​out the way I want, but that’s all part of the process of learning. I want to learn about more photography types and strategies that I ​can use whenever I take photos.

My 3 goals:

1.I want to continue to take photos of my friends, but I’d like to learn how to take candid photos because I think they’re very ​beautiful. I want to learn about the right timing and how you can get something nice out of such an unpredictable situation.

2.I have several film cameras at home, so I want to use the tools I’ve learned with those cameras as well.

3.I want to take photos of anything that inspires me because I think photography helps me learn about myself and be more ​confident in my decisions because I have to trust the process. so that in the future I have a bunch of ideas and possible new things ​to create or build on.